Hutterite corporation to receive proceeds from hog sale

The proceeds from the sale of several semiloads of hogs at Hutterville Colony near Stratford will be forwarded to the Hutterite colony’s corporation, a judge ruled Wednesday.

After an April 11 dispute at the colony concerning the sales of hogs, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office impounded the animals and, eventually, sold them all.

The expenses incurred during the time the sheriff’s office took care of the hogs — $165,254 — will be sent to the colony address, but Judge Tony Portra did not specify who would get the money.

The sheriff’s office caredfor the hogs at the colony until they were sold, according to court documents.

Simply put, the colony is split into two groups that don’t agree on which sliver of the Hutterite religion to follow. One group is led by George Waldner Sr., the other by Johnny Wipf. The ongoing dispute has led to court cases and criminal charges, though both groups continue to live and work at the colony.

William Gerdes, an attorney for Wipf’s side, asked during the Wednesday hearing that the money be sent to both Wipf and Waldner.

But Portra declined, saying that specifying who would get the money would likely clash with a state Supreme Court ruling that says thatthe dispute is a religious matter and that courts have no jurisdiction.

The April 11 dispute was not the same as one about a week earlier during which one man was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly driving a front-end loader at a private security guard working at the colony. Raymond J. Waldner, 22, has entered a not guilty plea in that case.

The Hutterian Church was founded in the 1500s in Germany, and members moved in the 1870s to the U.S. Midwest and Canada.

Church members live a communal, farming life based on the New Testament, with all property owned by the colony.